Food Processing in West Bengal

In food and agro processing sector West Bengal is one of the three front running states in India. Fruits, Vegetables and Cereals grave in abundance in West Bengal. The state accounts 30% of potatoes, 27% pineapples, 12% of bananas and 16% of India’s rice production. Additionally fruits like mangoes, papayas, guava and jackfruit and vegetables like tomatoes, cauliflowers cabbage, eggplant and pumpkin are available in plenty. Thus West Bengal in terms of agriculture is the largest producer of rice, pineapple, vegetables and fruits in the country, second largest producer of potatoes and lychees.

In the state, the main processed products in the Fruits and vegetables category are jams, jellies, pickles, sauce, canned sliced fruits and squash.

Crop / Agri Export Zones
Pineapple / Jalpaiguri, Siliguri, Coochbehar, North Dinajpore
Mango / Malda, Murshidabad
Lychee / Malda, Murshidabad, Nadia, North 25- Parganas
Vegetables / North 24 Parganas, Nadia, South 24 Parganas, Howrah
Potato / Hooghly, Burdwan, Howrah, East Midnapore

It ranks 1st in total meat production including poultry in the country. It accounts for 10% of the country’s edible oil production. West Bengal is also one of the leading states in pisiculture as fish is an important item in the Bengali Cuisine. The state has been awarded the 1st Prize for 8 consecutive years for its achievements in the fishery sector. It is the largest producer of fish in the country and also the largest supplier of fish and supplies nearly 80% of the crop seed demand of the country. It is the highest producer of shrimps also.

Agro and food processing industries form a very important part of the state’s economy. The West Bengal government is setting up a number of policies and plans to focus on the selected areas like vegetables, fruits, fisheries, rice, poultry, dairy and floriculture. Some of these plans includes more money involvement in agriculture, encourage private entrepreneurship for processing of fruits, vegetables & horticulture items etc. The State Govt. is encouraging the farmers for mechanization through the use of modern agriculture implements and machines form timely farm operation and reduction in the cost of production.

Agro Food parks are being developed in the state with the intention of providing support to small & medium entrepreneurs by assisting them financially in setting up capital intensive facilities like cold storages, warehouses, quality control labs, effluent treatment plants etc. The following food parks are present in the state:

Sl. No. / Name of the Food Park / Location / No. of Units set up/ to be set up / Project
Cost (Crore) / Status
1 / Malda / Malda / 25 / 16.084 / Complete
2 / Sudha Ras / Sankrail, Howrah / 11 / 18.93 / Complete
3. / Haldia / Haldia, Purba Midnapur / 40 / 18.80 / Under Implementation
4 / Siliguri / Siliguri / 20 / 14.21 / Nearing Completion
5. / Kandua / Kandua, Howrah / 5 / 16.57 / Complete
6. / Sultanpur / Sultanpur, South 24 Pgs. / 40 / 8.01 / Complete
7. / Kakdwip / Kakdwip, South 24 Pgs. / 80 / 9.24 / Complete
8. / Chakgaria / Chakgaria, South 24 Pgs. / 10 / 8.01 / Complete

Source: Ministry of Food Processing Industries (MoFPI), Govt. of India

Major Entrepreneurs in West Bengal’s Food Industry:

1) As can Agro PE & Pvt. Ltd., a Pailan Group Company who have entered into a joint venture with AFT/PB Conseil of France for setting up a food processing unit in Dhaniakhali, Hooghly to produce potato flakes.

2) Frito – Lay a division of PepsiCo has set up a potato processing unit in Howrah.

3) Arambagh Hatcheries was set up in 1975 and has grown by over 30% per year marketing poultry products and has also ventured into a chain of mini supermarkets selling groceries to cold meat and ready-to-cook food items.

4) Companies like Unilever and Nestle have expressed interest to set up food producing unit in the state.

5) Dabur Limited has set up a food processing unit in North Bengal

There are other notable projects in this sphere. Some of them are Hooghly Mills Project (Durgapur), M.P. Glychem Industries Ltd. (Haldia), Kanchan Oil Industries, Haldia Vegetable Oil and Foods (Haldia).

WBIDC has implemented several projects recently, which have brought itself much acclaim. In the food sphere it has implemented two major projects or food hubs i.e. Sudha Ras Food Park and Kandua Food Park.

1) Sudha Ras, the Food Park, encompassing an area of 49.88 acres is a composite facility for food processing industries set up and developed by WBIDC. Sudha Ras is an investor’s paradise with prominent enterprises in the area of food processing, cold chain infrastructure and manufacturing of packaging material. Frito Lay a division of PepsiCo India has a unit in the Park and is all set to become the company’s largest production facility in India after expansion. The Sudha Ras is located in Sankrail which is an important industrial area in Howrah district and it is ideally located at a motor able distance of 28 km from Kolkata on the nearly widened 4 Lane NH6. There are 6 Functional units in the Park i.e. PepsiCo India Holdings, Concord, Nonwoven Industries, Saj Food Products (Bisk Farm), Prestige Ice Creams (Rollick) Vitarich Agro Food India Ltd. and Rose Valley.

2)  The Kandua Food Park has been developed by WBIDC to cater to the needs of manufacturers and producers of food and agro products. The Park, built on an industrial cluster concept is an attempt to bring different agro processing units and their support facilities to a specific location where all users can benefit from shared infrastructure. The Park has 22 plots with all facilities and fire station. The Park area is about 54 acres. Some of the units that have started functioning are Pamper Ovenfresh, Indus Food Products, Vadilal Industries, Switz Foods Pvt. Ltd. (Monginis Kolkata).

Food processing industry can flourish in West Bengal due to various factors. Firstly, there is a vast availability of agro raw material resources. Secondly, the climate of West Bengal is suitable for the plantation of various citrus fruits. Thirdly, being situated near river ganga there is abundant supply of water & fertile alluvial soil. Fourthly, low cost skilled labour is readily available in the state. Lastly, its location is perfect for large domestic markets & easy access to markets of Asia Pacific. But this field is yet to be explored to the fullest. More than half of the population of the state resides in the rural areas who have limited knowledge about processed & canned foods. There income is low which doesn’t permit them to buy these instant foods. Moreover the people generally prefer having fresh foods rather than preserved food items because they are skeptical about the safety of these machine made food items. The availability is also a major factor for people not knowing much about it as it is mostly available in malls, super markets & renowned departmental stores in the city. So it’s not included in the middle income man’s diet. There are few local players in this field namely Pran, Priya, Ganesh, Pou Chong, MPS Group & so on. The quality of products of these companies are moderate not equivalent to the international standards. Thus West Bengal needs business entrepreneurs to come from outside & invest in this sector.

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